You can now make your selfies prettier in WhatsApp

WhatsApp has received the first update of the year. The new functions offer you new gimmicks with filters, effects and stickers. If you use WhatsApp for simple communication, you probably won't be interested in the new features.

Filters, effects and backgrounds now also for photos

Meta, the company behind WhatsApp, added 30 backgrounds, effects and filters to the app last year, but these could only be used for video calls. With the update, you can now also use them to spice up camera images. The following are available:

• Filters that primarily influence the colouring of the camera image
• Effects that insert various animations, deformations or additions such as dog ears
• Backgrounds that appear behind your cropped image

You can try out the gimmicks directly in WhatsApp's camera mode. To do this, tap on the magic wand icon at the bottom left of the recording button.

Your face as a sticker

Do you like using stickers in chat? Then you can now easily turn a selfie of yourself into a sticker. You can do this with existing pictures as well as with photos that you take with the camera specifically for this purpose. WhatsApp makes your face available for sticker use and adds a frame to it. You can then use the sticker in the same way as others. If you tap and hold on the sticker, you have the option of adding text to the sticker.

To create a sticker, tap on the icon to the left of the chat input line. The stickers are located in the tab that opens on the far right. Tap on "Create" - then you can select the camera or an existing image from your gallery. This only works on Android smartphones so far. The change will follow later on iPhones.

Stickers are small images that liven up the chat or convey moods. Unlike emojis, there are no standards and stickers can also be animated. You can therefore simply create your own stickers or use your face for them.

Easily share sticker sets with others

Sticker sets contain thematically or visually similar stickers. You can download such sets and share them with other people on WhatsApp. To do this, open the sticker set via the "Insert sticker" menu. There is an arrow on the right above the sticker overview in the set for easy sharing.

You cannot yet organise and share your self-created stickers in sets directly in WhatsApp. To do this, you need a third-party app such as Sticker Maker (Android) or Sticker Maker Studio (iPhone).

Double tap for reactions to messages

A pure quality-of-life update is the new option to open the reaction menu by double-tapping on a message, for example to give a heart. Previously, you had to tap and hold on a message to do this. Now you can do both.